On a cold winter’s day do you feel like leaping out of bed into the crispness, or would you rather turn over and pull the blankets up? What about the heat of summer – is this when your energy is peaking, or do you feel like retreating to a cool, shady spot? We are all different, and it is important to practise yoga according to how you are feeling.

We are all different, our uniqueness determining our physical and mental response to the time of the day, the seasons, the sun, moon, wind, rain ... I could go on and on. Since an important part of yoga is getting to know yourself and how you change from moment to moment, it makes sense to let your energy inform you about how to practise according to the season or even the time of day.

WHAT TO PRACTISE WHEN

In yoga certain asanas (postures) are energising and some are calming. For example, back bends are heating, invigorating, uplifting, and excellent antidepressives, but are not recommended before going to bed. Forward bends are cooling, calming and are helpful when you are feeling over stimulated. Surya namaskara (sun salutation) creates heat in the body and stimulates the mind because of its flowing movement and connection with the breath. Standing asanas build strength and stamina and allow us to feel grounded down through our feet and into the earth. Balancing asanas cultivate concentration. Twists detoxify the body and relieve tension in the head, neck and back. Inversions, which turn us upside down, literally change our view of the world and remind us of the impermanent nature of everything, especially when we get stuck in a rut.

Once we know how we feel, each season invites us to shape and alter our yoga practice according to the energy of the season. Keeping in mind the conditions of the day (temperature, wet, wind, etc) practice sessions may vary even within the seasons. In general, yoga practice should always start by centring, i.e. quieting the mind, and end with a period of relaxation in savasana (corpse pose). If possible carry out your session at the same time each day, and for the same length of time.

Winter

For some, winter can be a time of quiet contemplation. These people would focus on forward bends, which are calming and restorative, pranayama (breathing exercises that draw energy into the human being), meditation and swadhyaya (self-study). In others, winter may by depressing so for them invigorating, uplifting back bends would be a better choice. Back bends also encourage the chest to open, countering a tendency to round forwards, and close up in a posture that tries to keep warmth in the viscera. Dynamic asanas get the blood circulating. Balances uplift the energy and are warming because they require an open mind and body and a playful energy. However, when the weather is cold the place where you practise yoga should be warm, and you need to spend some time warming up the muscles. Rather than thinking, ‘Ugh, I feel so stiff and tight,’ explore how you can let go of that thought and create freedom on your joints.

Spring

Spring is a wonderful time to focus on Surya namaskara (sun salutation). The days are growing longer, the sun begins to feel like a beautiful call to come out of hibernation and we pay homage to it. Spring is the time of new beginnings, and this is the time to start introducing new poses into your practice. It is also the time to clean out the old, so change your diet to one that is detoxifying and do some purifying exercises like the shat kriyas (yogic cleansing techniques). Welcome the newness into your being by focusing on inhalations during asanas and pranayama, drawing in that fresh energy to invigorate and vitalise.

Summer

Across most of South Africa the summers are hot, and yoga practice needs to be modified again. Try combining exercises into a cooling sequence using calming forward bends, seated asanas, restorative back bends (supported rather than held using the muscles), and gentle inversions such as viparita karani (half shoulder stand or simply legs up against the wall) and sarvangasana (shoulder stand) rather than sirsasana (the headstand). If Surya namaskara is carried out, it should be in a slower, more meditative manner, without jumping the feet into positions. Chandra namaskara (moon salutation) is more cooling and balancing for summer. Pranayama should include sithali (the cooling breath).

Autumn

Autumn brings opportunities for sharing and heart opening. The temperature is milder than summer, and we are preparing for winter. This encourages more energising asanas, such as stronger back bends, and again a detoxifying diet and a regimen to stimulate the immune system in preparation for winter. More vigorous pranayama practices can be introduced to strengthen the lungs.

Reflect on your own experience of the seasons and work with the energy that the season stimulates in you. Perhaps your yoga practice will be working in harmony with that energy or counteracting it with an opposing force.

CONCLUSION

As a last word, however, please keep in mind that if you change your practice too frequently you will not cultivate a sense of grounding within external change. In your yoga sessions allow the focus and rhythm to change, but stick to a general format – such as the one mentioned earlier in this article, which is a powerful technique for going deeper.

About the Author

ANNE (ANNAPURNA) COMBRINCK is a yoga therapy teacher at the Ananda Sanga Yoga Centre. She trains yoga teachers and advanced yoga teachers, and runs various workshops for lay people and yoga teachers. She is also an Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) practitioner and trains people to use EFT for self-help, or up to practitioner level. Contact her on Tel: 021-855 1470 or e-mail: anne@asanga.org.za or see website: www.asanga.org.za